Work vehicles such as refuse vehicles, firefighting vehicles, military vehicles, or various material handling vehicles typically necessitate an operator or another occupant of the vehicle to move in and out an operator compartment of the vehicle. For example, a refuse vehicle collecting refuse in a residential area makes frequent stops to collect refuse. Often, the operator must exit the vehicle at each stop to cause the refuse to be loaded into the vehicle.
To improve efficiency, manufacturers have sought to move the operator compartment closer to the ground to reduce the distance an operator must move when exiting and entering the vehicle. Lowering the operator compartment, without requiring an oversized console or “doghouse,” is often limited by the conventional internal combustion engines, transmissions, and drive trains typically employed in such vehicles. An oversized console may interfere with desired movements of an operator and/or may interfere with an operator's line of sight throughout the vehicle.
Work vehicles employing conventional internal combustion engines, transmissions, and drive trains often experience a substantial amount of engine noise within the operator compartment. Engine noise within the operator compartment is enhanced because the operator compartment is often positioned substantially over the engine and/or slightly behind the engine. Further, such vehicles often exhibit relatively low fuel efficiency and/or produce undesirable emissions that are released during operation.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a vehicle which overcomes one or more of the above-mentioned problems. Advantageously, such a vehicle would enhance many aspects of refuse collection and transportation, and/or other vehicle applications. The techniques below extend to those embodiments which fall within the scope of the appended claims, regardless of whether they provide any of the above-mentioned advantageous features.